8/16/10

The Bead Journal Project or BJP


A lot of my work is done for the Bead Journal Project (which I often shorten to BJP or bjp) and it's been a while since I've explained what that is. I'll let Robin Atkins speak for it....the following text is the info given on the BJP's blogs and each site has many links to other year's participants too.


"The brain child of Robin Atkins, the first Bead Journal Project, which began in June of 2007, included 241 women and 1 man who were dedicated and committed to creating 12 bead journal pages, one per month, for a year.

The BJP is all about visual journaling using any media and techniques, providing it includes some beading. We are free to structure our bead journal pages any way we want, as long as all 12 are the same size.

The current years' Bead Journal Project runs from January 2010 through December 2010. This blog is a means by which we may support each other in process, techniques and design. Participants (many with links to their personal blogs or websites) are listed below."


I've been doing the BJP since the beginning, so if you go back to my blog for June of 2007, you'll see my first one and if you don't want to wade through the whole blog, my Flickr link (on the left side of this blog) has photos of all my journals to date.

For me, each piece relates in some way, simple or sometimes profound, to what's been happening in my life that particular month. When I post each piece, I try to tell a story about it and what I was thinking as I made it, but sometimes I don't see the significance until long after I've finished a piece. It's a wonderfully meditative process and can give me access to parts of my unconscious that I can get to by no other method. That's one reason I work intuitively as I go along instead of planning out the design ahead of time.

So, I hope this hasn't been more than you wanted to know, lol....but when I mention my next bjp, you'll have some idea of what the heck I'm talking about!

6 comments:

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

"It's a wonderfully meditative process and can give me access to parts of my unconscious that I can get to by no other method."

I have found this to be SO true. Sometimes I don't even know what little thing started the whole thought process, or even realize what it means until I am done.

xx, Carol

Pursuing Art... said...

I'm just so grateful that you share YOU and your BEAUTIFUL heart art with us! Thank you for always being so inspiring, dear friend. It is always such a joy and pleasure to visit!!! XOX ~Lisa

lilylovekin said...

I'm so glad to know what BJP stands for, I never knew but now things make a little more sense.

Pat said...

I went to your flicker account. Seen as a whole, I am blown away with the variety and beauty. So talented!

beadbabe49 said...

Same here, carol...

Lovely to see you "out and about", lisa!

I'll have to post about it more often, lorrie!

thank you, pat...you know I love your work and really appreciate your kitty posts too!

Susan Elliott said...

You are so right about the bjp being a meditative process. I do miss it this year...